Music and Therapy

BALANCING BODY & MIND WITH MUSIC

This workshop will introduce participants to the healing qualities of music. In a playful way we will identify what element is primary in our lives at the present moment: water, fire, air or earth, by using music and observing how different melodies and tonalities resonate in us. We will then use complementary music to balance our body, mind and spirit.
   Most of us are involved daily with music in some form, whether we make it ourselves or hear others making it, and we are energized or relaxed by it. Music has been used in rituals worldwide and we know that it has a profound effect on us.
   How do we find meaning in the rhythms that are part of our lives? In this workshop we will use music to explore the correspondence between our personality type and the same four elements that constituted the basis for a theory of medicine and psychological typology in Greek, Medieval, and Renaissance thought.
   Three Greek philosophers, Hippocrates, Plato and Aristotle contributed greatly to the vision of health, disease and how the body functioned. Notwithstanding their differences, they saw health as the achievement of balance determined by four “humours” that corresponded to four elements: air, water, fire and earth. They were the western equivalent of the Chinese five states of change. Each of the humours were associated with particular physical and mental characteristics, resulting in a complex system that provided an interesting classification of types of personality.
   In the past century, researchers have studied the healing quality of music and Music Therapy is now an established healthcare profession that uses music to address physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs of individuals of all ages. The therapeutic use of music can improve the quality of life for people who are coping with high levels of stress or are grieving. It has also helped children and adults with diverse health challenges.
   Healthy people can also benefit from music. Music promotes wellness, alleviates pain, helps us express feelings, enhances memory, and helps us improve communication, among other things. Music can help us see beauty in the darkest of times.

This presentation is an introduction open to health professionals and to the general public. It gives a brief overview of what music therapy is and the physical benefits of music to health and wellbeing.

With Silvia Casabianca, MA in Art Therapy, LMHC and Reiki Master

At the Coral Gables Congregational Church - Wellness Center on 1125 Anastasia Ave. Coral Gables, FL.

Please call Megan at (305) 448.7421 X 119 to register